


London to Paris

by AlwaysawaywiththeFairies



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Christmas, Drinking Contest, Dry Humping, F/M, Fluff, Making Out, One Shot Collection, Period-Typical Sexism, Steggy - Freeform, Wartime, alright it's not a tree it's a tent, howling commandos being bros to steve and peggy, peggy and steve kissing in a tree, the howling commandos are a bunch of teenagers, tipsy peggy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:55:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28327149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysawaywiththeFairies/pseuds/AlwaysawaywiththeFairies
Summary: A series of one-shots of Steve and Peggy in Europe during the war.
Relationships: Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers
Comments: 22
Kudos: 62





	1. Chapter 1

One thing no one tells you about the army is how long you spend waiting here and there. Sometimes in the trenches, sometimes stuck in an abandoned barn because of the snow, often just in the barracks in London or somewhere in France, waiting for your next mission. Most of the Commandos favored France when it came to having to spend a few days in the same place, ostensibly because they got luckier with French ladies than they did with English ones. Peggy once nonchalantly mentioned that there was something to be said about them finding it easier to flirt with women who could barely understand their attempts at seduction, and Dum Dum laughed so hard he almost pissed himself. But London held a special place in Steve's heart. Before Peggy and himself became an item, it was where he had the highest chances of running into her, and he would walk around the barracks constantly on edge, hoping to meet her and not make an entire fool of himself in the process. 

After the Private Lorraine fiasco, Steve had spent at least half of his time avoiding Howard Stark and Bucky's attempts at helping him at all costs. They meant well, they really did, but for all Steve knew, they were both way better at getting girlfriends than they were at keeping them, so they were hardly the experts they considered themselves to be. He needed to find a way to honestly apologize to Peggy and be in friendly terms again. It broke his heart that he had blown his shot with her, but it particularly hurt that she would just talk to him professionally and only when strictly necessary. After Erskine's death, Peggy was the only remaining soul in the army who had been kind to him before the serum and losing her trust and support had him, in Bucky's words, "mopping around like a puppy who's been kicked to the curb."

Morita overheard it on his way to the showers. He thought of going straight to Cap, but they were supposed to pretend they didn't notice he was distraught and lovesick, so he told Dum Dum, and they decided to dump the information on Barnes, so he could decide as his best friend whether to tell him or not. 

\- _"You better talk to her before the week is over, buddy,"_ were Bucky's first words when he reached the room they shared in the barracks.

Steve briefly considered asking who he meant by "her", but he was so embarrassingly obvious in his feelings for Peggy everyone knew, Bucky more than any of the others.

\- _"I think it's better if I let things cool down for a while,"_ he objected.

- _"Look, I know for a fact she got leave to spend some Christmas days home with her family. She won't be back till the 26th, and god knows where we'll be then. You've got until Sunday to figure out what to tell her, and how."_

Steve started protesting before Bucky cut him.

\- _"Alright, so let it sip. She'll get madder and madder at you because you can't get your head out of your ass, and she'll go home and meet one of those posh English Lieutenants also on leave for Christmas and he'll court her because he won't be an idiot and then you'll truly have reason to sulk all day."_

It was the wrong thing to say, Bucky realized the moment he saw Steve's reaction. He started to say sorry, but his friend wouldn't hear him, turning around to face the wall and saying he needed to go to sleep. Bucky went to bed feeling guilty, and the turned and twisted himself to sleep, only to be woken by someone shaking him in his bunk. Steve had been his best friend since they were little, but sometimes he could see why he had gotten himself punched so often in life. He was still half asleep, and Steve was talking in whispers and really, really fast, and all Bucky got was the word "lipstick". He narrowed his eyes and tried to get things straight. It took him a moment to get where he was going.

Bucky had agreed to accompany him. It was their day off, he had nothing better to do, and at least he was finally trying to do something about Carter. Bucky had to admit it was an impressively good idea for someone who had never had a girlfriend. Steve had noticed her the week before trying to use what seemed like the last remains of her tube of red lipstick, and he mentioned remembering that USO girls found it really hard to get their usual beauty products ever since the beginning of the war. Their mission sounded pretty simple to Bucky: find a store that sells lipstick tubes, buy a red one for Carter, maybe get himself a date with one of the pretty dames working the counter. Only it wasn't that simple. Steve did not want a red lipstick tube, Steve wanted the exact shade of red Peggy wore and, for someone who had been colorblind for 24 years, he was incredibly thorough examining each of the options they were given. They were either too warm, too bright, too dark, or had the wrong undertone. Not only was it an excruciatingly slow and boring process, it also brought him no closer to meeting a nice English girl to spend the afternoon with. They were too busy swarming around Steve, giggling about meeting him, and about how adorably Captain America had blushed when they had asked if it was a present for his sweetheart. Thirty minutes into their visit to the first store, the ladies were feeling way more enthusiastic about Steve's mission than Bucky was, and they were giving them a list of the other local businesses they could visit on their quest. They promised to telephone the first store on the list to give them a heads-up. They were met with timid applause among the three ladies behind that counter when they got there and Bucky was starting to regret rejecting Gabe and Dernier's offer to join them for proper English beer and a stew at a pub. By the third store, Bucky was convinced all the ladies at beauty counters in London knew that Captain America had a girl and, at the speed even the most irrelevant Captain America-related news seemed to travel, by the time they got back to the barracks, with or without the infamous lipstick tube, Philips would have heard of them. 

Halfway through Steve's detailed inspection of all the bloody shades of red in the fifth store, Bucky was considering ways to fake his own death and at least get a lift back to the barracks when he struck conversation with the young lady manning the perfume counter. She had black hair and the biggest, greenest, most beautiful eyes Bucky had ever seen, and an Irish accent that made him smile. He told her his grandparents were from County Galway - he used to do that wrong before, excitedly telling Irish girls he met in Europe that he was Irish himself and not being very successful with them, until Carter took pity on him one night and told him to stop being so American and just say that he was from New York City but his family originally came from Ireland. Carter could be nice like that when she wanted to. Annie was clever and funny, and thought it was very sweet of Steve to search for the perfect lipstick for his girl all over London, and she had no boyfriend, and wasn't at all opposed to one American soldier picking her up from work the day after to walk her home. Bucky would write about her in his next letter home to his mother, scribbled in a hurry during a mission in the north of Italy, telling he hoped to see her again when back in London because they had had so much fun on their two dates that week, and found many things they had in common, like the games they used to enjoy as children or their love for dancing. They also shared a penchant for taking risks, and the notion that cunnilingus didn't really count as doing it and was barely a minor sin, maybe not even one at all... but his mother didn't need to know that. By the time he got back from Italy and went back to the store to give her a suprise, he found out Annie's mother had suddenly died, and her family had asked her to go back home to take care of the little ones. 

- _"Sorry, pet"_ , one of the other girls said, when he asked whether she had left any way to contact her at all, _"she was very upset, and had to rush home if she wanted to make it to the wake. She did think you were lovely, and would have been over the moon to see you here under different circumstances, you know?"_

It was at Annie's shop, precisely, that Steve finally managed to find the exact shade of lipstick he was looking for. If Bucky then thought that the most difficult part was done, he was wrong. Steve kept putting his foot in his mouth whenever Peggy was anywhere in the vicinity, and only seeing her when surrounded by way too many people, and looking more and more miserable as days went by and Sunday approached, and Peggy's present was still being carried around in his pocket.

It was Saturday afternoon already when, turning a corner, he encountered the woman herself, arms crossed, and glaring at him. Steve honestly wanted to dig himself a hole in the ground and hide. 

\- _"So..."_ , Peggy said, coldly, _"I can't help noticing we seem to be running into each other more often than usual, and, as it's not my doing, I was hoping to hear a reason from you at some point this year."_

- _"I wanted to talk to you, but,"_ Steve bit his lower lip, trying to find the words.

- _"But?"_ , Peggy asked impatiently. Half of London knew that Steve had been around town shopping for presents for a girl and she held no resentment towards that Lorraine lady, but she was not going to endure being humilliated listening to how he was sorry he had given Peggy false hopes, and he had found someone special. For a man who claimed to not have had a proper conversation with a lady six months before, it was shockingly soon, but it was none of Peggy's business.

\- _"But you won't give me the time of the day",_ Steve said, eyes on his shoes. _"I understand I deserve no second chances from you as... as... in that way"_ , he stumbled upon his words, lifting his eyes to Peggy's, which had softened slightly, and he found the courage to go on. _"But I wanted you to know that I admire, and respect, and value you as a person, and I've always had, and I know I was an idiot with what I said about Stark and you, and... and... the other thing. I know it's no excuse, but I didn't start that and I didn't know how to react, and I wasn't expecting it. And I'm sorry that it happened, and I'm sorry that you had to see it, and I'm sorry that I acted like a jealous ass because I like you so much that I don't know what to do with myself."_ Peggy was staring at him with kind and somewhat surprised eyes, so he got his hand in his pocket and gave her his present before the moment was over. 

Steve wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't a trembling lip from Peggy and a hug that made him the happiest man on earth.

- _"I reckon I was a bit of a jealous arse myself. And unprofessional. And stupid"_ , she admited when the hug was over, looking at him in the eye.

- _"Were you really?"_ , Steve could feel his heart swelling with pride.

\- _"Stupid?_ ", Peggy asked.

\- _"I mean jealous."_

\- _"Steve! I shot at you!"_

They both had to stifle a laugh as they could hear steps approaching and none of them wanted to be interrupted. Peggy grabbed his hand softly and took him to her tent. Steve's stomach felt like it was doing literal somersaults as he observed her carefully opening the little package. 

\- _"Oh, Steve, this is so sweet. So, so sweet."_

Steve felt his blush worsening by the moment and the light in the tent wasn't too good, but it was enough to see how Peggy's cheeks were rosy too, and her eyes were bright, and by god she was the most beautiful woman in the world. 

- _"Just a warning",_ she said, flushing brighter, _"because last time this happened to you it was unexpected and unwanted on your side... I'd like to kiss you, soldier."_

Steve answered _"I want to kiss you too"_ so fast it would have been comical to anyone but Peggy. 

He spent the following week playing the scene again and again in his mind. How it was soft at first, and then Peggy opened her mouth a little, and Steve decided kissing her was the thing he liked best in the world, and he would spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week doing it if he could. He came back to Bucky with an idiotic smile that all the Commandos would soon recognize and pretend not to notice. Poor Steve's bliss, unfortunately, was short-lived. The Commandos had to rush to Italy to take a small Hydra base before it became any stronger, and he could not even bid Peggy goodbye before her leave. Monty broke his arm, and one of Dernier's explosives failed, so they had to change their whole plan on the go. Flying back to London, filthy and exhausted, and a bit mad they had missed the Christmas dinner they were supposed to have had if they had made it on time, Steve could only think it would be the 27th already by the time he got to see Peggy again, and that only if she was still in London instead of on a mission. After all the tension of the days they had gone through, all that filled his ridiculous mind was the possibility that Bucky had been right. That she made it home, and there was a rich, handsome English Lieutentant who, unlike Steve, knew what he was doing and she realized she deserved something better. 

They got to London way too late at night, and it wasn't indeed until the morning of the 27th that he saw Peggy again. They were having breakfast with the rest of the troops in the canteen, and Peggy walked to their table, telling Monty he was expected at the doctor's office the moment he finished his breakfast, and Steve that his presence had been requested immediately by some big shot. They walked in silence to an office Steve had never noticed before and Peggy opened the door without knocking first, which Steve found odd, and lifted an eyebrow, motioning for him to enter.

- _"Captain?"_

It took half a second for him to notice it was completely empty, and for Peggy to lock the door.

\- _"Oh, darling,"_ she said, with an expression that, in Steve's eyes, made her look even more beautiful than ever, if that was possible, _"I've missed you so much."_


	2. Chapter 2

\- _"Are you asking me to be your chaperone, Steve Rogers? Oh, how the tables have turned..."_ Bucky said, amused.

- _"C'mon, Buck, I don't want anyone to think there's funny business going on if I take her to her room on my own."_

\- _"Yeah, because two guys in a room with a lady sounds a lot better than just one."_

* * *

For Peggy it could've been a perfectly normal evening with the Commandos after a successful mission within walking distance of a village. Something warm for dinner for a change, a drink or two, one of them pretending they were sleepy and needed to go to bed, the other coincidentally disappearing from the bar not long after, finding somewhere dry, hidden, and nice for some necking. Except there was whiskey, and she overheard the phrase _"drink like a man"_ and she couldn't help herself. She shot an apologetic glance at Steve, gave him the sign for "30 minutes or so", and was close to changing her mind the way he looked back at her, roguish grin and raised eyebrow, like he knew what he was doing, as much as he insisted that he absolutely didn't. It had been alright with Fred. Not unwanted, or completely bland, like the experiences some of her friends had confided in her, but entirely different to the way things were with Steve. He was quiet and impossibly sweet, he blushed at the mere mention of her name, and they had done little more than kissing so far, but god help her if he kept bringing her body so close to his and tentatively moving his hand beyond the small of her back because the way things were, she was already making an effort not to rub herself against him, and it wasn't as if he was doing much better in that respect. It needed to wait, though, since Peggy had already taken the place of a relieved Pinky Pinkerton at their table, sitting across Dugan. She was going to teach him a thing or two about holding one's drink and how it had nothing to do with what lied between your legs. 

Peggy Carter, ever true to her word, had drunk Dum Dum under the table within little more than half and hour. With the taste of the last triumphant gulp still in her mouth, she could have told you she was perfectly fine, and ready to make sure the Star Spangled Man and herself would discuss that plan of his in private. Only the moment she stood up, she suddenly wasn't at all fine. Steve, and Barnes, and poor Pinky were surrounding her and trying to help her, which she didn't need because Peggy Carter was. not. drunk. Peggy Carter could hold her liquor since her first adolescent trips with her cousins to their grandmother's whiskey collection, thank you very much. 

She could hear some fragments of discussion among the Commandos about cold showers - for Dum Dum, she assumed, it would do him good, the state of him... - and who was taking whom to their room, which she found a bit rude because they were talking about her like she wasn't right there hearing them, and as if she needed a babysitter. She started to protest and Barnes had the cheek to cut her saying: _"Sugar, you're babbling."_ He was going to pay for that, she didn't know how, but he was. Peggy decided to not move a muscle, and ignore them all, since they had decided to be so patronizing. She had great resolve to do so, and was keeping a perfectly dignified silence standing against the wall, if she might say so herself, until Steve guilt-tripped her with loving eyes, and a soft _"Will you really not let me walk you to your room, Peg?"_. He was a lovely, lovely man, and a lovely, lovely boyfriend, and he had a lovely, lovely bottom and Peggy had been expecting to cup a feel that evening if that was alright with him, but of course Dum Dum had to say something silly and ruin it all, and now they were taking her to her room like a child, and she felt a little bit like crying because there was no way she was getting acquainted with that lovely bottom anytime soon. Perhaps she was tipsy after all. Just a bit. 

Peggy didn't catch a lot of the conversation going on between Barnes and Steve on the way to her room at the inn. Barnes was being funny, that much she got, and they mentioned something about Bucky chaperoning them, and Peggy snorted because Barnes would be the worst chaperone she had ever had. He would probably just put them in a room and lock the door. Which sounded like a heavenly idea once she started considering it, so maybe he could be the best chaperone she had ever had. 

Once inside, Steve caressed her cheek, and put a strand of lose hair behind her ear, which is cheating if you do it while you try to sweet talk your victim into having a cold shower to sober up. 

\- _"Not a cold shower per sé, just a bit of cold water on your face? So you will feel better?"_

Both of them started trying to wear her out with anecdotes of how good a remedy it was, and they had answers to all of her protests, but Peggy felt that she had an ace up her sleeve.

\- _"You cannot do that, Steve. You see, I have a face full of make up, I can't shower at all without taking it off. And I can't be bothered doing that right now,"_ she said, feeling victorious.

She wasn't exactly expecting him to find her cold cream, open it, and tell her to close her eyes and relax.

\- _"It's not fair,"_ she complained, when Steve's face got closer to hers, _"that a man should have eyelashes as long, thick and lovely as yours. Not fair."_

Steve snickered.

- _"Must have been the serum",_ he offered.

\- _"Not the serum. You had the loveliest eyelashes before the serum. And the loveliest eyes, and the loveliest lips. I thought you were lovely, all of you, if you must know,"_ she said before she could stop herself, and was mortified at the sound of Barnes' cough. Peggy decided that moment she wasn't drinking. Ever again. 

It was strangely intimate, feeling the tips of his fingers spreading the product softly, even worse knowing Bucky was by the door, looking like they were the funniest thing that he had ever seen.

\- _"How come so skillful with that, Stevie?"_ , he chuckled.

\- _"I see you tend to forget my time as a chorus girl with the USO girls,"_ Steve joked.

\- _"Of course, your girls,"_ Peggy snorted, trying not to sound at all jealous, failing miserably.

\- _"You're"_ , Steve whispered in her ear, _"and you will always be my best girl."_

So what if she kissed him? It couldn't have been entirely new to Barnes, could it? With how close they were, even if Steve was very discreet, which she knew he was. He made a show of pretending to leave the room, and then went to the bathroom to make sure the water was running while Steve looked at her, shaking his head. 

- _"Now I have cold cream all over my face and I'll have to put my head under cold water too, you happy now?"_

\- _"Absolutely. And look at the bright side, you can now reminisce about your time as a chorus girl."_

They went for another kiss while Bucky was in the bathroom, but Peggy had to stop mere seconds into it.

\- _"Head spinning?"_

\- _"Yes. Sorry."_

She obliged, head under the tap, enduring the cold water, swearing just a bit and trying to make them feel bad about how terrible her hair would be the day after. 

- _"Yeah, I'm sure Stevie will find you hideous"_ , Barnes chuckled.

* * *

It was very, very early, the light coming from the window was killing her, and the last thing that Peggy needed was someone knocking on the door, no matter how subtly. She opened before the offending sound had the chance to be repeated, only to find Barnes with a glass full of water, a loaf of bread and a bit of butter. 

\- _"Shit, Carter, you look like death warmed up. All due respect and that."_

She narrowed her eyes at him, but accepted the water and food anyway. 

- _"How? Why?"_ was all she could come up with.

\- _"Because Dum Dum needs to continue seeing who's boss in the morning. The how involves the cook's daughter and a number of things I won't go into because it will only give you ideas on how to pervert Steve further,"_ he smirked at her.

He was insufferable. Quite kind, too, to be fair. They sat side by side in silence while she ate and drank, and she thanked him sincerely, feeling slightly better than minutes before.

\- _"Just one thing"_ , he added, almost as a second thought, something he didn't know whether to say or not, and finally decided to mention, _"I know last night it wasn't the right moment, but if you two ever want him to spend the night, my lips are sealed. He makes it to our room before everyone starts getting up and as far as I'm concerned, he's been there the whole night, you see? For the record, I think there's not one man in the Commandos who would breathe a word to anyone about you two, but just so you know, I've got your back if you need it. I've tried telling him, but you know how he is..."_ , he shrugs, opening the door to leave the room. 

Trying to braid her hair into something that looked even remotely decent, Peggy couldn't help thinking that Barnes was indeed the best chaperone she had ever had.


	3. Chapter 3

\- _"You're the adult."_

Sargeant Dugan wasn't often summoned to Philips' presence, and certainly never on his own. He decided a silent nod was the best course of action, whatever was in Philips' mind. He hadn't been in the best of moods ever since the general had denied his request to cut the frame where Peggy's photo could be seen in Cap's compass from the latest promotional video they had made, and he was hardly a friendly fella on his best day. 

\- _"Juniper is a kid, Morita would find them a room if he could and pay for it too, Sawyer is the strangest man I know,"_ he continued his assessment of the Commandos, _"Barnes and Jones couldn't keep it in their pants if their lives depended on it, the only reason Falsworth and Pinkerton are any different is that they can't manage to get as much attention from the ladies, and Dernier is French, so he's probably the worst one. You're the only proper adult, you see where I'm getting at?"_ , he stared at him with an exasperated look.

\- _"I'm afraid I don't, sir,"_ Dum Dum replied. 

\- _"Rogers is a good man, I'm not saying he isn't,"_ Philips shook his head, _"but he is a fucking idiot, because nobody but a fucking idiot would let a photo of a spy in full view of a camera, for god's sake. And now I'm left without one of my best because he's managed to turn her infiltrating the enemy into a liability, and I have no other option but to let her join the Commandos in every mission. So let me be very clear on this one, man to man, adult to adult,"_ Philips frowned.

\- _"Yes, sir."_

\- _"If one of the brightest people in this bloody army, if the best spy I've ever had ever, EVER, comes back from a mission with the Commandos pregnant and has to be sent home, believe me, I swear to god, each and every one of you will spend whatever is left of the war cleaning toilets, super soldiers or not. Don't even try to pretend you lot are not encouraging them."_

* * *

- _"I'm offended AND flattered"_ , Jones smirked.

- _"YOU are offended?"_ , Pinky replied, _"personally I think I'm a very attractive man, should I apologize for being picky?"_

\- _"Alright, forget about that, let's focus..."_

Bucky arrived and suddenly found all eyes on him.

\- _"So? What's going on?"_

\- _"Philips thinks that you're better-looking than myself and Monty, and that Dernier is likely a pervert."_

\- _"That's hardly an opinion, Pinkerton. Those are facts, and you know it."_

Dum Dum explained to Bucky what had been going on.

\- _"So we figured you'd know if they are... if..."_ , Dum Dum wondered.

\- _"If they're going at it like rabid bunnies"_ , Happy Sam Sawyer finished the sentence, and shrugged when everyone glared at him _"no point in going around in circles until we have managed to get ourselves a job as cleaning ladies."_

\- _"I don't think... I..."_

- _"You wouldn't tell anyone, not even us, though, if you knew."_

- _"I wouldn't. Sorry. He's my best pal"_ , he offered, _"but I really don't think that..."_

\- _"It doesn't matter if they are or they aren't doing it"_ , Jones interrupted, _"I'll happily help Morita pay for the room."_

\- _"For the last time,"_ Morita rolled his eyes, _"I'm not paying for any room."_

- _"The actual question, Bucky, is"_ , Gabe continued, _"how much does Cap know about the birds and the bees and ways to stop pollination from happening?"_

- _"Peggy is clever, though"_ , Junior intervened, to everyone's surprise, _"not that Cap isn't, you know, but Peggy is the most intelligent of all of us, she'd never do anything stupid, would she?"_

\- _"The problem is, buddy,"_ Falsworth replied, _"when your blood rushes south, your brains mostly leave the building, it's not that easy. You know what? When Barnes finishes explaining to Cap how babies are made, he can start with you."_

Bucky knew Steve, and he was pretty sure, secretive as he was about his relationship with Peggy (the most Bucky had managed to extort from him was that yes, they are together), there wasn't anything sexual happening. Yet. The way they had looked at each other that day she got drunk, no amount of years as an altar boy were going to stop that from happening. He did try, for the sake of the rest of the Commandos' peace of mind, to subtly approach the topic when he was alone with him. Even if he thought it they weren't there yet, rubbers were tricky to put on and take off, especially the first few times, and there was no harm in a bit of information. Every time, it made Steve defensive or embarrassed, which would have been alright had Bucky been 100% certain his embarrassement came from his total ignorance on the subject and not because he was trying to hide something. 

* * *

Steve wasn't sure why, or how, but Bucky seemed to suspect or, even worse, know about what Peggy and him were doing. He kept trying to casually bring up contraception or "other ways to be with a girl" (Steve was tempted to dig a hole in the ground and crawl inside every time Bucky put those words together), no matter how much Steve did not want to have that conversation. It wasn't that he didn't trust his best friend, of course he did. But what happened between Peggy and himself was just between the two of them. Besides, they were walking on thin ice as it was, after everyone had seen Peggy's photo on his compass. Philips couldn't look him in the eye for days, that's how mad he was, and even though relationships in the army were frequent and overlooked by most superiors, they were technically not allowed. Steve was very new to love and relationships, but one thing he did know: he wouldn't risk tarnishing Peggy's reputation for anything in the world. 

Not to excuse himself, but to be fair, they hadn't been doing much beyond kissing and the occasional wandering hands before, and that only behind closed doors. It had been unlucky, it really had, to bump into Colonel Philips in the middle of London while Steve was walking Peggy to an apartment that was used as accommodation for Agents who were in town. Worst of all, Philips had found himself in a first-row seat, just a minute before they saw him, to Steve wraping his arm around Peggy and pulling her to him for a proper open-mouthed kiss. It wasn't like him, and he didn't know what had gotten into him, but that moment he felt he loved Peggy so much that his heart was going to explode if he didn't kiss her and he just did, and Peggy responded with enthusiasm, and a moment after that they were both red-eared and mortified. They were in-between missions and it cost them a couple of days of doing paperwork and work hours that left no chance to see each other, and the moment their punishment was over, Peggy made sure they made it to the apartment with a couple of hours to spare, and Steve was sitting on her bed, timidly sipping a cup of tea, before he realised. There had been a bit of kissing to make up for lost time, and then she had moved, or he had, he didn't know and he wasn't sure he cared, and it was still just kissing for another while, but Steve was sure he hadn't imagined the electricity between them while they undid their shoelaces before lying on top of her bed. There were whispered words and the kind of soft touches that weren't new to him anymore, and then she threw her left leg over his hip, and suddenly Steve's body, inexperienced as it was, knew how to move to make it good for him and good for her. It was frantic, and it was everything he didn't know he wanted but did, and she looked the most beautiful she ever had, blushing and whimpering, and if the real deal was any better than what he was feeling at the moment, Steve was thankful for the serum if only because he didn't know if his asthmatic self could have managed to live through something like that, let alone proper sex. He had asked her for the soon-to-be incriminating photo in his compass that evening, and they had been sent on separate missions less than 48 hours after that. The next time they met, Peggy could feel Steve's awkwardness, and confronted him as to what had happened, half-expecting him to disappoint and shame her, thinking her wanton or too forward for what had happened the week before. Not her Steve, though. 

- _"It's just... I don't think I can go all the way. Yet. I'm not sure... It's not that I don't want to,"_ he muttered, eyes on the ground.

\- _"But Steve,"_ Peggy caressed his face, lifting his chin to meet his eyes, _"what happened doesn't mean that we need to go beyond that. And you never need to do anything you don't want or like. I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't feel your discomfort at the time. We never have to do that again if you don't want to. Kissing is fine, I love kissing you, darling, you know that."_

Steve let a relieved sigh out and bit his lower lip.

\- _"We don't have to. Never do that again, I mean. That was good. I really, really liked what we did"_ , he said, blush in his cheeks.

\- _"Are you free this evening then, soldier? I could use company on my way back home."_

\- _"All yours, ma'am,"_ Steve beamed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been having a bit of a crappy week, and this particular story with the tent sharing has been in my head for at least a year, so I decided to write it to have something nice to focus on. Hope you enjoy it!

\- _"It's just a joke,"_ Bucky said, _"and you know it never happens in front of anyone but the Commandos and, Stevie"_ , Bucky chuckled, _"you have to admit it is a bit funny."_

\- _"It is not, Buck"_ , he protested.

\- _"Oh, but it fucking is, bud. Sorry. I just know I'll be 100 years old and I'll still piss myself laughing thinking about your face in that moment."_

It had started a few weeks before. They had gotten their weekly army-issued packages about two minutes before having to leave base, put them in their backpacks and mostly forgotten about them till they had to set camp in the late evening. Steve and Peggy had volunteered to go get water in everyone's canteens and maybe they had taken a little while, and maybe if you had checked Steve's pocket, you would have found a handkerchief full of lipstick stains that may or may not have matched Peggy's rouge. On their return, the guys had been laughing around the fire, and saying something about a treat in the package, that it was Bucky's favourite, and Junior had said he could have his too because he would have no chance of enjoying it, and Jones had replied there was no way he was giving his up.

Chocolate. That was what Steve assumed was in the package. Bucky had had a sweet tooth ever since they were little, he had later tried to explain to the others, and Junior could never have chocolate bars because he was allergic to nuts (unfortunate choice of words, which just sent them on another rolling-on-the-floor laugh attack), and how could he possibly have known? 

They couldn't have stopped him. In hindsight, they would absolutely not have stopped him at all because it was the most hilarious thing that had happened in a while, and they laughed so much they had to stop every now and again to try and catch some breath, but they wouldn't have been able to stop him anyway if they had wanted to. He just reached for his package and told Peggy his treat was all hers and was so eager to please her that he somehow managed to open it the wrong way, and all of the contents fell to the ground. The whole thing couldn't have taken longer than 30 seconds. And that including the moment it took him to realise that it was not a chocolate bar on the ground, but five rubbers instead of the usual two. Bucky had wanted to stop laughing out of compassion for the poor thing when he noticed he was at least three shades of pink beyond anything he had ever seen in him, but he couldn't. He just could not. He tried not looking at any of the others in the eye, not looking at Peggy, who was visibly biting the insides of her cheeks as not to start laughing herself, thinking about anything else, and he even tried covering his ears in an attempt to stop himself from hearing Dum Dum's contagious laugh. It was just useless. And every attempt on Steve's part to rectify the situation only made it worse. At one point he thought they were finally done. They were all having a somewhat quiet dinner with the rations they had managed to warm up in the fire when Happy Sam Sawyer let a breath out staring at the horizon and declared, serious as he always was:

- _"And they say romance is dead..."_

It was so bad that Steve could still hear a quiet chuckle coming from a tent or the other every few minutes for a good while after they all had gone to sleep. 

The following morning, he woke up to a rubber in his backpack. An extra one, not just the five offending prophylactics that had started everything. And there it began. If Peggy and himself went to check on a noise in the middle of a mission, he would get back and soon find a rubber tucked somewhere in his things. If he took her somewhere in his motorcycle. If they disappeared for a little while from a bar. The time Pinkerton caught them holding hands under the table. When Dugan mentioned they were making lovey dovey eyes at each other. The mission in which Peggy caught the flu and Steve was the only one who could take care of her with no risk of getting it himself. Steve had to admit they were at least inventive. He had found rubbers in his backpack, in all the pockets of all the clothes he possessed, inside a sock, with his toiletries, in his helmet, replacing bookmarks in not one but two different books, and in all sorts of places. He had never caught them in the act and they kept coming out with new ideas, apparently, but he was hoping they would run out of hiding places at some point. 

* * *

The blizzard took them by surprise. It was way too late in the winter for it to snow this way in the south of France, Dernier swore, but it was happening, there was no way they could march much longer and the closest village was not safe. They had found a cave with enough space to plant their tents and be at least sheltered from the snow all night, there were no signs of predators or other animals there, and that was that. 

\- _"I reckon we need to sleep and keep watch in pairs or we'll freeze our arses",_ Monty said. 

\- _"I'm good as long as I don't have to share with you. There is only so much kicking and snoring I can take",_ Jones replied, lifting his hands in the air.

\- _"You're welcome not to. I'm sure Dum Dum will be much better company",_ the Brit joked.

Whoever says you can't hear thoughts has never seen Dum Dum staring at Morita before saying something bad. Steve could hear the thought, smell the thought, taste the thought, and feel the thought before he uttered a word. It had to do with the tents, and spending the night in pairs, and who and who could maybe be noisier than his snoring. He didn't want Peggy being uncomfortable and, to be honest, he didn't want himself being uncomfortable either, so he panicked before Dum Dum could say a thing.

\- _"We can all draw straws to decide how to pair up for the night!"_

Peggy was standing next to him, so he couldn't see her immediate reaction, but if Bucky's face was any indication to go by, it was really, really, really bad. From the corner of his eye, he could see her squaring her shoulders.

\- _"While you do so,"_ she started, looking at everyone but Steve, _"I think I'll go check on those telegraph poles we just walked by to see if we can find any use for them tomorrow morning. I should hope you'll let me know whose company I'll have the pleasure of tonight when I get back. Gentlemen..."_ , she finished, glaring at Steve for a second before leaving.

\- _"Wow"_ , Jones let out.

\- _"That was bad,_ " Bucky patted Steve's shoulder, _"I don't know if you noticed."_

\- _"The good thing is none of us has a girlfriend now, Cap"_ , Happy snickered, _"so we're all the same now. Minus the rank. And the super strength, and super speed, and all the super stuff. But apart from that..."_

\- _"I have a girlfriend!"_ , Juniper chirped. 

- _"You kissed a girl in Italy once, Junior. That is not having a girlfriend, we've talked about that,"_ Morita rolled his eyes.

\- _"You don't know if she's waiting for me!"_

\- _"Alright, guys, one crisis at a time,"_ Bucky interceded. _"You go talk to her, and try not to fuck up worse. Ideally, do not fuck up at all, Stevie, do it for us. We are rooting for you guys, but you make it difficult sometimes."_

Finding Peggy would have probably been a harder task had she not been kicking one of the poles. At the sight of Steve, she stiffened visibly.

- _"The cable has been cut and we won't be able to use them tomorrow. Although you might want to toss a coin and find a different Commando to check on them if my opinion is not good enough for you."_

\- _"Peggy...",_ he pleaded.

- _"Captain."_ She avoided his gaze.

- _"Peggy...."_

\- _"I'm afraid you're repeating yourself, Captain Rogers. Unless you have any new orders, I'll get back to the cave to find my ration for tonight and whoever I'm sharing with this evening."_

- _"I just..."_ , he began justifying himself.

\- _"You just rejected and embarrassed me. To my face. In front of our team. Our friends, Steve. Don't you dare tell me you have a lipstick tube somewhere in your pocket to give to me as a token of your affection, or right now I'll tell you where you can shove that lipstick tube,"_ Peggy hissed.

\- _"I don't want anyone thinking things about you, and saying things about you,"_ Steve mumbled, _"I don't want any jokes making you feel uncomfortable or disrespected, even if they are not meant to hurt you. And"_ , he bit his lower lip, _"I didn't want you thinking we had to sleep in the same tent if you didn't feel like it."_

- _"Steven,"_ Peggy let out a sigh, _"you know I've been in the army longer than you. Do you really think I can't take a joke from Dum Dum Dugan, of all people?"_

- _"Probably better than I would?"_ , Steve gave a small smile.

\- _"Probably, indeed. I'm a big girl. You know what? I'll tell you a joke I heard around a couple of weeks ago. Two soldiers meet at Camp Leigh, and one of them goes 'hey, you know why it's always so difficult to understand Agent Carter?', and the other answers 'well, it must be the accent', but the first one replies 'man, the accent I can work around, but it would really help if she took Captain America's cock out of her mouth.' Like it?"_

Steve was pale as a sheet, clenching his fists till his knuckles went white. 

- _"There are plenty more, with various degrees of obscenity. I'll save you the details, although I have to note they seem to have some sort of felatio fixation."_

\- _"We don't even do... that"_ was all Steve could come up with, in his shock.

Peggy had to stiffle a laugh.

\- _"That just goes to say, darling,"_ Peggy caressed his arm with a gloved hand, _"people talk about whatever they want to talk and assume whatever they want to assume and the truth has nothing to do with it. And you do not need to shelter me from it"_ she added, _"people talk behind your back, darling, not behind mine. They pretty much say anything they have to say to my face. Sort of."_

\- _"I can still fucking hate them,"_ he muttered.

\- _"Language, Rogers,"_ Peggy teased.

\- _"It's not funny, Peggy. I want their names so I can... so I can..."_

- _"I do not need protection, Steve,"_ she cut him. " _Do understand me, I do like you protecting me, I enjoy being able to protect you myself too, but you can't personally defend me from everything and everyone, not that I wouldn't want it even if you could."_

Steve still seemed upset, so she continued.

- _"If you absolutely need to know about the fates of the comedians delivering that bad joke, though"_ , she nodded towards the cave, _"Dum Dum there punched the living daylights out of them before I could do it myself."_

When Steve and Peggy went back to the cave, the guys were remarkably quiet and respectful. Which took considerable restraint, taking into account the amount of lipstick in Cap's collar. They got the first watch, and Steve's stomach had more butterflies than ever. He had fantasized about waking up with Peggy next to him, but it had never occurred to him that it would be that soon. Once their watch was over and they had woken Jones and Dernier up, they walked into Peggy's tent. 

\- _"Do you think we can both fit in yours, or should we use my sleeping bag?"_ , Steve whispered.

- _"Oh",_ Peggy looked over her shoulder, _"so you didn't even want to spend the night in my tent, and now you want to spend it in my sleeping bag?"_ , she teased, _"I don't know how you could possibly persuade me, Captain."_

Steve looked her dead in the eye and took off his undershirt in a fluid motion.

- _"How's that for persuasion?"_

Morita would always swear, no matter how many years went by, that it was an accident. He had been sleepy enough when Dernier woke them up, and it was impossibly hard to stay awake the whole watch, and at the end of it, Dum Dum had gone outside the cave to take a leak before going back to sleep. He was honestly trying to get Barnes and Happy because they were up next, but it was dark, and he was tired, and Dum Dum was not there to help, and yes, he did get the wrong tent.

Peggy didn't have much time to react to the sound of the tent opening. Her sleeping bag left very little room to maneuver, so Steve, in all his shirtless glory, was on top of her, kissing and teasing and being a dote. In seconds, there was soft light from the fire, a gasp, a stream of mumbled apologies, the tent closing, and poor Steve pale as a ghost, very much looking like he would have a heart attack if his perfect machine of a body allowed him to. 

The next morning, Steve woke up to the most beautiful view he had ever had first thing in the morning. Peggy cuddled up to him, nose nuzzling his neck. He kissed the top of her head softly, and, as she felt more and more awake, she looked him in the eye:

\- _"That thing... did happen, right?"_

Steve covered his face with his hand.

- _"They're going to give us hell for that, aren't they?"_

The weather had cleared, the coffee smelled real good, and everyone seemed to be too busy talking about how nice the weather was, and how that would help them march to pay too much attention to Steve and Peggy joining them. He should have known. He should have fucking known that there was no way in hell they would let it go. He had drunk half a cup of coffee when he reached for the boots he had left near the fire to dry during the night when a stream of not one, but six nicely packed prophylactics fell from the left one. 

- _"I'm not saying it won't be warmer during the day,"_ Bucky announced very seriously, as if he hadn't seen it at all, _"I'm just saying maybe tonight some might still need to keep their body temperatures up using whatever method suits them."_

It was a good thing they were not hiding from the enemy that very moment, or else the Commandos roaring with laughter would have given their exact location away. 


	5. Chapter 5

Peggy hated it when she began being considered a young lady. Not only because of being unfairly forbidden from taking part in unlady-like activities while Michael could still have all the fun his heart desired, but also - and, to be honest, mostly - because of the unwanted attention from men, some not of an even remotely appropriate age. Binding her breasts sadly only lasted till her mother noticed and forbade it - everything seemed to be forbidden for young women, apparently, as if the blood and the pain weren't bad enough. With time, she managed to come to terms with her looks and her body and the male attention they brought. She understood some men might find her attractive and they might stare at her a bit longer, as she couldn't help doing herself when she saw a man whose looks she fancied, as long as they were polite and respectful. However, indiscreet looks at, and comments about her chest area made her skin crawl. How dare they talk about her as if she were not a person but a cow, with body parts being discarded or praised in the rudest of terms? Soldiers who thought her pretty, she pitied but could tolerate; soldiers who openly and unashamedly saw nothing in her but a pair of breasts, however, might have found themselves owning a toothbrush that had been in rather unhygienic and unfortunate places. 

Some men may not find them the most sensual of body parts, she supposed. It was just unfortunate that precisely Steve seemed to pay no mind to them, with all the looks they had attracted throughout the years, and how all her fantasies began with him giving them his undivided attention and love. A malevolent inner voice suggested maybe it was not breasts in general he didn't find too enciting, but hers in particular. She had seen those USO girls he had travelled and shared dressing rooms with, and they were nothing short of spectacular. She had no doubt he was physically attracted to her (she could often feel against her hipbone exactly how very much), but perhaps it was a consequence of his love for her as a person rather than being there since they first met. Which wasn't something to be disappointed about, she reasoned. She would rather be loved for who she was than for what she looked like, but she had found Steve sweet and beautiful from the beginning and the idea of him not feeling the same way towards her back then did sting, even if it was silly.

She had misread his apparent lack of interest in the area as shyness at first, but as much as Steve couldn't make himself talk about sex for all the tea in China, he wasn't shy about doing things when they were alone. Blush he might, but it wouldn't stop him from putting his hand up her skirt or, in a rather scandalous turn of events stemming from Phillips' failed attempt to stop them from fraternizing, grinding against her on top of the covers of her small bed in Hackney. Such a shame, how his brief distraction had ended up with her face on screens worldwide, and her temporary removal from her duties as a spy had her handing the keys to the small flat to the next agent in line. It was almost endearing, Steve's face falling, a slight pout on him, when she told him sans-spy duties she was left sleeping at the barracks like any other soldier,no proper walls, no privacy, not much room for their budding exploration of each other. She couldn't help being disappointed herself. They had had such a good time the last afternoon they spent there it took her three whole days to be able to even think about him in any way at all without having to press her legs together.

* * *

It was supposed to be an easy one. Peggy briefly meeting her informant at the back of the church, Jones and Denier creating a distraction at the front, Bucky and Morita up in a roof watching one entrance each, sniper rifles in hand, just in case. In and out in less than 15 minutes. How it had gone so spectacularly wrong in so little time was anyone's guess. It wasn't as if they didn't plan these things thoroughly, taking into account all sorts of things. You expect random changes in the weather, you expect Nazi spies infiltrated in the local population, you expect Hydra coming up from nowhere. What you don't expect is the village idiot stealing and driving a tractor in precisely the wrong place at the wrong time, and everyone panicking and running away, and losing sight of Peggy for ten agonizing minutes, only to find her drenched and hurt in the river after having had to jump from the nearby bridge when she saw the tractor coming in her direction. She had tried to grip the edge of the bridge, but her right hand had failed her. Dernier was driving, and Dum Dum was trying to make sense of the map so that they could make it to the abandoned farm they had been told to use as a place to rest and regroup till the following day. Peggy, trembling under a blanket, was swearing while Monty was exploring her hand and deeming it impossible to decide if it was broken or not while it was that swollen. 

\- _"You like this feeling, bud?"_ , Bucky whispered, making sure Peggy didn't hear.

Steve looked back at him with a frown.

\- _"That's how she feels when you try and pull off stupidly heroic stuff that could get you killed. Jerk."_

Steve shook his head and felt his best friend's grip on his shoulder.

\- _"She'll be fine, she's tougher than any of us."_

Peggy's hand was equally swollen, if not worse, when they got to the farm, and she was sitting on something close enough to a bed that would have made her the happiest of women just hours before, miserable and wishing for Monty to just magically solve whatever was wrong. 

\- _"All I can do is immobilize it with bandage, and wait till tomorrow,"_ he shrugged, _"sorry, Pegs."_

Peggy nodded and shivered.

\- _"You should probably take those things off and have them dry in front of the fire downstairs before you catch a cold. I can lend you my blanket if that one's wet?"_ , he offered.

\- _"I've tried. I can't,"_ Peggy said softly, eyes on the floor. She hated feeling helpless. She lifted her eyes only to see Monty visibly confused.

\- _"Take off my clothes. I can't do it without my right hand. There are buttons, and there are little hooks. I've tried."_

Peggy pressed her lips together and lifted her eyebrows. Surely he had to understand what she meant for him to **discreetly** do. Nobody was quite that thick.

- _"Do you want me to call...?"_ Falsworth tentatively asked. He didn't want to assume. Nobody wanted to be on the wrong end of Peggy's wrath. 

\- _"Oh, Lord,"_ Peggy replied, rolling her eyes, _"Steve. Call Steve."_

Call him, he did. Discreetly, not so much. Peggy could hear the sound of cheering and cackling coming from downstairs. With how juvenile the Commandos were, Steve and herself could be sure to be hearing about this for a good while. At least they had stopped practically throwing rubbers at them, which mortified poor Steve, after Jones and Barnes had found themselves one evening at a bar in Bordeaux with one lady each and just one profilactic left between the both of them, having to flip a coin to see who was going to get lucky that night. It served them right. 

Steve entered the room red-eared and shy, asking if he should let the door ajar or not.

\- _"While you get me undressed, Steven?"_ , Peggy said, impatiently, _"darling, they tease you because you blush easily, not because they think we're doing anything up here, or in a tent with Morita snoring on one side and Happy on the other."_

Steve closed the door and walked towards Peggy to embrace her.

\- _"You scared me out there,"_ he whispered in her ear.

\- _"Were you scared? When you didn't hear from me for a while and didn't know if I was quite alright? I couldn't possibly imagine the feeling",_ Peggy lifted an eyebrow.

Steve chuckled.

- _"Broken transmitter, Carter, you saw it yourself. Won't let nobody shoot my means of contact with you ever again, though. Promise."_

Steve's fingers trembled ever so slightly as he started undoing her tie.

There was constant noise from downstairs, Dum Dum and Morita singing a song and arguing about the lyrics, Jones and Bucky laughing, Happy complaining that it didn't matter if they knew the words to it or not when none of them could fucking carry a tune. Peggy didn't know what got into her, but it was out of her mouth before she could stop herself:

\- _"I imagined it differently, you undressing me for the first time."_

What a ridiculous thing to say, when Steve was so timid and found it so hard to speak about the physical side of their relationship. Peggy wanted to kick herself in the arse. Steve locked eyes with her for a second, clicked his tongue, and without missing a beat, replied:

\- _"So did I."_

Peggy figured she would be spending some time in the near future fantasizing about how he imagined undressing her, and under which circumstances those thoughts came to mind, and how often, since he didn't seem inclined to share more on that particular subject. 

He undid the buttons of her blouse carefully, the way he always treated clothes. He never used to have a lot of money to spend on new clothing, he shrugged, one day Peggy commented on how well he would take care of his uniforms compared to other soldiers. 

Peggy had figured it would be easy to take her slip off once they got to that stage of the undressing process. Steve could hold the blanket around her, she would get hold of the hem and pull it over her head, nice and easy. However, it proved to be a harder feat to achieve than she had initially thought. It just wasn't the same if you could only rely on one hand, and not even your dominant one, to do the job. After the third attempt, she sighed.

\- _"I need you to do it for me."_

Steve shifted his weight from one feet to the other a couple of times.

\- _"Alright..."_ he murmured, _"like this?"_ , he was holding a bunch of fabric that wasn't even the hem of her slip with one hand, keeping the blanket up with the other and staring at the ceiling. What possessed him to admit to thinking about undressing her one minute and not even look at her the next, she couldn't understand.

\- " _Is it so terrible"_ , Peggy hissed, _"that you can't look even if it's to help me?"_

Steve lowered his eyes, confused at her outburst.

- _"What are you talking about?"_ , he mumbled.

Peggy cleared her throat and directed her gaze at her chest briefly. Steve's eyes went wide with realization and he turned red as a beetroot. 

\- _"That's not it, Peg"_ , he rushed to say, _"we need to go downstairs in a moment and you'll be wearing a blanket, but I won't."_

Peggy only gave him a bewildered look. It was Steve's turn to stare downwards. Towards his crotch, to be more precise. 

- _"I'm trying not to..."_ , the poor thing whispered. He was so lovely Peggy couldn't let him keep struggling to explain himself.

\- _"I'll hand you the hem, and you can just pull it over my head keeping your eyes on mine? It sounds less uncomfortable for both of us than you staring at the ceiling, doesn't it?"_

They were practically done when they began hearing clatter from downstairs that suggested dinner might be almost ready. Peggy had planned not to bring it up again, but she couldn't help herself.

\- _"I'm sorry for assuming that..._ " she started.

- _"No, Peg, it's me who should be sorry. I should have been focusing on helping you, and all I was thinking about was not getting...",_ he stopped himself and gestured awkwardly.

\- _"... an erection, Steve, you can say it. It's not wrong. It won't shock me."_

- _"It does shock me a bit sometimes,"_ he joked, _"that you and I have reached that point."_

\- _"If you don't mind me insisting, now that we've touched this particular topic, I couldn't help noticing it's not only today. You don't seem very interested in certain body parts, if I may be so direct. I just wanted you to know it's quite alright."_

Steve put his arms around Peggy, blanket and all, and buried his nose in her hair.

- _"Just so you know, there's not an inch I have seen of you that I don't adore, and there's not an inch I haven't seen that I don't ache for."_

There had to be a shed somewhere. It was a farm, after all. Somewhere to stack the hay, that would work, too. Anything that gave them the tiniest bit of privacy from the others would do. If Steve kept making her that hot and bothered, she swore she didn't know how much longer they could go without giving everyone a show. 

\- _"It's not that. It's... it's...",_ Steve woke her up from her daydreaming, just as Barnes knocked on the door and almost instantly opened it.

\- _"I hope you two are decent,"_ he chimed in, bringing Steve's backpack into the room, _"don't get used to this, not your butler, punk."_

Steve opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say a word, Bucky was already speaking.

\- _"I'm bunking with Dernier and Jones. By the time I wake up tomorrow, I should be fluent in French. No room for you with us or the others, sorry. I hope Carter feels charitable"_ , he said on his way out of the room, winking at her. _"We'll start having dinner in five minutes, with or without you two!"_

Dinner was fun, even if they were all sick of canned food. Junior had found some pear trees behind the farm and fresh fruit for dessert felt like true luxury and got everyone in a good mood. They told stories and sang a few songs and it was soon time to try and get some sleep if they wanted to make the most of having a roof over their heads for the night. 

* * *

It had become an unspoken agreement between them two, that they wouldn't sleep in separate sleeping bags when given the chance of moderate privacy. Steve waited until they were snuggled together to continue the conversation Bucky had interrupted earlier. Peggy insisted he didn't have to talk about anything that made him feel uncomfortable, but he did want to go into it.

- _"It's just... I don't know how."_

Peggy frowned.

\- _"You see how the guys have gotten so used to you being around they talk about, well, everything in front of you, even private matters?"_

\- _"Uh-huh,"_ Peggy agreed, not quite sure where Steve was going.

\- _"It was a bit like that in the USO tour. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop or anything, but I kept hearing stories from the girls about how guys were obsessed with..."_ he awkwardly said.

\- _"Breasts?_ _Steve, you're going to have to start using the actual words in front of me at some point."_

He nodded.

- _"... and they would do it all wrong all of the time. And often it would be so wrong they would say they went off guys they really used to fancy, just like that. So, huh. I don't know how to do it right, and I don't want you to hate it."_

- _"Steve,"_ she kissed his lips softly, _"I don't think there's a chance of me hating your touch. The question is, do you want to touch me like that? There's no problem if you do and there's no problem if you don't."_

\- _"I do want to,"_ he said, awfully fast. 

Peggy took his right hand with her left one and put in on her breast. He gave it a soft caress that made her shiver. They began kissing, which only made his touch more erotic. 

\- _"Do you like that?"_ he asked timidly, after a while.

\- _"I love it, darling. I wouldn't know if you like it, though",_ she teased, _"satisfied now?"_

- _"Well..."_

\- _"Well?"_

Was that a naughty smile she saw?

- _"I'm dying to kiss you."_

\- _"I think you have done plenty of that tonight, sweetheart, even if it's never enough."_

\- _"Not your lips. Your..."_ he stopped himself briefly and closed his eyes for a second, _"I'd like to kiss your breasts,"_ he whispered _, "if that's... if you like the idea of that."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I'm not 100% happy with this one, but I've truly tried my best. Hope you enjoy!


End file.
